Society for Popular Astronomy

Thanks for the information. If it does clear then I'll give it a go, but I think time is not on my side this evening.

Best wishes, Jeff.

I’ve just looked at the specification of your monocular, Mike. What a lovey piece of kit. You had a very good observing session too. I imagine it was very enjoyable to use. I’m dreaming of clear skies now.

Best wishes, Jeff.

I’ll be interested to hear how you get on with that, Mike. Funnily enough, it had been on my mind to get something similar for when I’m out walking and cycling, or for a quick look at the Moon and planets, and prompted by this topic I ordered a relatively inexpensive one last night - 7x28. I’ll see ...

Didn’t Auguste Comte say, in 1835, that we would never know anything about the chemical composition of stars in his Cours de Philosophie Positive ? ...whereas we would never know how to study by any means their chemical composition, or their mineralogical structure, and, even more so, the nature of ...

SkyBrowser and Mike, it's very interesting reading back through historical astronomy books. I've managed to find the book referred to on Google Books, which is free, as the book is out of copyright presumably. The link is here . I'm actually intrigued, and may well give this a go, SkyBrowser. I'm te...

I bet that was a lovely sight. I must make the effort to observe in the mornings, when it’s next clear.

Best wishes, Jeff.

I’m not sure, Brian, although it does say it triggered one of the biggest CME’s in years, so I’m guessing it would have had some impact.

Best wishes, Jeff.

There is an interesting movie sequence from NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite, showing a huge filament of magnetism launching itself into space, on the SpaceWeather.com website for the 8th Jan.

The movie was captured by the satellite’s Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI).

Best wishes, Jeff.

Thank you Schaeffer. Oh how I wish I'd made the effort to get to my preferred vantage point with a view of the south west. It seems either I mis-read the forecast or there has been a wonderful change. From an upstairs bedroom window I caught sight of Jupiter at 4:38pm about 5 and a half degrees abov...

This is really beautiful. There’s some lovely subtle detail in the nebulae, and that grouping of stars with 17, 18, 19 and IQ Aurigae really adds to the scene.

You must be so pleased with this result.

Best wishes, Jeff.

I see there is a very nice observing opportunity in the twilight of the 14th January, around 4:40pm, when a slim (just under 3% illuminated) crescent Moon will sit alongside Mercury. Both of them will be around 6 degrees above the horizon at this time, with a separation around 4 degrees. I’m guessin...

Brian, marking the position for the legs is something I have always meant to do and just never seem to get around to it. I must make the effort to do that. Nigel, never thought of setting the one axis to 90 degrees. I’ve experimented with that today and it’s a cracking solution to my frustration. Wi...

Yes, we were indeed observing at the same time, Mike. I often wonder how many people are looking at the same view as me.

I was a little disappointed I couldn’t detect Saturn, but the proximity of a tree near the target area definitely didn’t help.

Best wishes, Jeff.

I’ve had a very pleasant, if slightly chilly couple of hours observing with my 66mm William Optics refractor, combined with a 38mm 2” eyepiece. The ‘scope has a focal length of 388mm, giving a magnification of about 10x, and a field of view of approximately 5.5 degrees (although a FOV calculator sug...

Wednesday 6th Jan at 4:45pm. I suspect I may have had my final glimpse of Jupiter, just 7 degrees above the horizon. It was a tough observation, largely because I had to stand in the middle of the street and use my 8x56 binocular to look through a narrow gap in between two rooftops. As soon as I spo...